Yesterday, Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in Russia on a brief working visit, visited the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow, and participated in an event dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the anniversary of the complete lifting of the Nazi siege of Leningrad. "Modern politicians, religious and public figures must do their utmost to preserve historical memory in the 21st century and to prevent the weeds of nationalist ideology, whatever forms it may take – anti-Semitism, Russophobia, or any other phobia rooted in hatred – from ever sprouting," Vladimir Putin said.
Meanwhile, the president of the Russian Jewish Congress, Yuri Kanner, recently talked about the anti-Semitism prevalence rate in the post-Soviet space and in the EU: "The oldest study on anti-Semitism is conducted by IDL, the American Anti-Defamation League. The research technique includes ten widespread anti-Semitic myths, for example, that Jews use blood to make matzah. If a respondent agrees with five or more myths, then he falls into the group of latent anti-Semites.You can criticize this poll, but given the fact that they have been carried it out for many decades, and the dynamics are traced, then it is not far from reality. In 2017 they gave Russia 23, which is the lowest anti-Semitism prevalence rate in the post-Soviet space and one of the lowest in Eastern Europe.The anti-Semitism prevalence rate is lower in the Protestant states - Finland, Estonia. The highest anti-Semitism prevalence rate in the post-Soviet space is in Armenia, and from European countries - in Greece."
Yuri Kanner said that the first Moscow conference on countering anti-Semitism was held on November 1, 2016: "Before the conference we did great research of anti-Semitic sentiments in the country. The results were published only in academic collections for scientists, since they should be processed. The second such conference will be held this year, in late October 2018, and we will also do research for it, which includes the attitude of Jews towards anti-Semitism. The country is large, the level of anti-Semitism is different. In Russia there is not so-called 'Islamic' anti-Semitism, which today subdued France, Sweden and other countries. We have the strongest Jewish communities in the Islamic regions - in Kazan, Ufa. There is a quite big Jewish community in Nalchik."
